Liquid metering device



1953 A. v. HEMMENS LIQUID METERING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 15, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 15, 1951 5 4 6 3 a a w m m fi. H a 4.7 8 P 0 w B I 6 M /r 7 g 3% W 2 l u 6&1 U 7 1 8 by a a Ang- 1953 A. v. HEMMENS LIQUID METERING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fi,1ed Jan. 15, 1951 lllllllllllllllllllllllllll 1 Patented Aug. 11, 1953 UNITED vs'mrrs PATENT OFFICE -2;s4s,2g5 JJQUID ME N Y Q Alfred-Victor flem nens, Potts Point, near Sydney, 4 New -Smith -Wale's',Australia, assigno'r to Al V. Heminens -Bty. Limited,.Sydney, New South Wales', Australia, .a' corporation of New South Wales .apnl at qn lanuar ?.5. r a .N9- 96,015 'IneH irel a aer 1. 195.

.4Glaims.

1 This invention-relates to the metering of milk during the operation of milking machines. -The invention provides means for automatically metering -milk as it ilowsirom each "group of teat cups (thatisfr-om each cow)" inkthe suction line of .a milking machine. Further, -the inventi'on provides means for the retention of a vacuum during removal of teat -cups from cows and--for replacement of teat .cups on cows. The invention also provides means to automaticallysamplemilk as .it .is fiowingtfrom .each cowl Still'iurther,

:the invention provides means for closed circuit milking. of cows and. the canning of milk received therefrom .underivacuum. r

Present t day .milking machines .areigenerallyof twotypes known as bucketvplants and releaser plants. The bucket plant permits the/use of bucketsinto which milk. from .a .cow is received and the contents then weighed on.a..mi1k .scale, in order to obtain theicowfs yield, whereas with the .releaser .plant (the milk from all .cows .is

received in a. common milk line and ittis vnot .possible to obtain a...cowis .-.yield without interposing :a bucket or fitting-a..volurne .typeotmilk-reeorder, requiring manual operation. of VaIvesand equipment and time loss in orderto. .get..prop.er r a in of. gathered milk.

In bothsaid typesofplant the milk isemptied from the machines. :into an. .openvat from which -.th .mi.1k .flows y av ty intoitheusuai typ ,of

transport can. An open type of cooler...may; .he'

tere e Both typ s only pe m tor .theuse qpen typ f coo ers. :Furthermor ,:both ty e f, lan ar sub ect t -t .:lost tim prob.- lem should.theat atcu s. Qnpne coweialliofi re.-

u tine i .0 s .p vacuum and th sfa in iofi 1 hefiea u sin other bail mfethe plant du t "$1. $..-Q31 n .bQth t pes of plant mil inpling is a manual operation again absor ing .im

M flow-Irma.cQW.-va ..ecnside ab yiboth lecting .and. de-aerating means .in the .milk line through .lit. :to .-'the suction dine. The

ratus. Air .inletsito ;th

,ing -.apparatus. {Ijhe means 'consis'tlofa V.

2 from each group of teat cups. -.'I here.is..a..gravity valve in said chamber adapted to close saidzi let. An emptying chamber is positioned above .the meas i iring'chamber." -A suction .pipe. extends ifrom th top' of the .measuring...chamber into the emptving' charnber'andtherelis a float valve. in the measuring chamber adapted .to .closesaid suction pipe. An adjustably positioned emptying andfcali'bratingtube extends :irom. near the ibottom of the measuring lchamber intodihe emptyin chamber. ioutlet .from .qthe emptying chamber to the'suction line .of .anrilking machine has a part positioned/vertically and here is a-m'agne't in :this vertical.-.-part free to. rec; o cate for a determined distance. The magnet is constructed S0:-:that.. mi1k; canaflQW .-.Da.st it and in flowing lift it. A second magnet is mo on a counterbalancedtlever,.putsidesaid v tical part and in juxtaposition vto said flrstrnagnet.

- counter mechanism is operativ -1yi i aisdt said counterbalanced lever. Suction inthe. suction-.line, created bygthe usual milking machine draws rnilk from the teat cups v into the mi1k...co11ecting. and de aerating nieans which includes. .anair removal p-ipe and a ;I q am I th Whena predeterminedjqllhfifilli':95 the measuring chamber it lifts the float valve which closesthesuction pipe and thei inlet -valve closes by gravity. wlfhen owing to the su cton in the. emptying chamber the n uring chambers-v flows, through. [the rnpty calibrating tube into said emptying-cham V the magnet gtherebyactuating the e 2 tecordithe. quantity oflmilk taken from them H .iring chamber in one operation ,p'f Jthehaptiae ral chambers peritth .me e mepeiaiipni pi tin qin rs lar intermittent-cycle.

Where a -m lhnsmath p {-99 n ;11 automaticvacuum r. ention means Q to operate when teat cups fall ofi, the p sentin' 'housingpositioned a 1 thesucti line between the ,milk,epllecting and deeaeratirrg .means and the teatr cupsiof the machine. 'is.a valve-seat ,in the top of the housing-and .a .valve insaidahousing. -The weight of the valve and the ratio of ,pits,cross, sectional area to the .cross sectional. areav of the housing per- .mi ts .normalmilk flow, but a. cha g r 9i??? Elli 3 ing the housing will lift the valve onto its seat. A small leak is provided across the valve seat which provides sufficient suction for the teat cups to be replaced when the valve will drop to open position again.

Associated with the metering apparatus is an automatic sample collector consisting of a pipe connection in the suction line having, a bottle holder coupling thereon. There is a small opening through this coupling, which owing to the vacuum created in the bottle through the suction line admits a few drops of milk from each cycle of discharges from the metering apparatus.

Other features of the invention are hereinafter referred to.

The invention is described in detail with reference to one embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of apparatus according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a central sectional elevation;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of counter recording means and appurtenances;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan on plane 44, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional detail view of a milk sampling bottle as aflixed to the apparatus;

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan on line 66, Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional detail of modified coupling means between the collection and deaerating receptacle and the metering apparatus;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a standard milk transport can with an immersion cooler therein; and

Fig. 9 is a diagram of bucket and pipe connections.

The metering apparatus consists of a measuring chamber III which preferably is a cylindrical vessel. It has an open top with a surrounding flange I I which constitutes a seat for a cover plate I2 and the seat incorporates a sealing gasket. The top I3 of the flange II is a seating for part of a gasket I4 and it has a surrounding chimb I5. There is an inlet I 6 in the bottom of the measuring chamber I0 and means are provided to connect a pipe thereto. An air vent I6a is positioned in the measuring chamber under the cover plate I2.

The cover plate I2 has a guide post I1 set downwardly; it is open at the bottom and a valve I8 adapted to seat on the inlet I6 can lift into said opening. The guide post keeps the valve in alignment with the inlet IS.

A suction pipe I9 projects from the top of the cover plate I2 and there is an opening through said cover plate to said suction pipe; the bottom of said opening constitutes a valve seat. A float valve 20 is retained in alignment with the valve seat by a keep 2| and guides 22 fixed to the guide post I1. The keep is an annular disc with a plurality of holes 2 la therein (see Fig. 6). The keep acts as a bafiie and diffuser on milk flowing through the inlet I6.

An emptying and calibrating tube 23 projects through the cover plate I2; its position is adjusted by screwing and it is retained in position by lock nut 24. The height of the bottom of this above the bottom of the measuring chamber Iii determines the quantity of milk to be taken through the metering apparatus in one cycle of its operation. A convenient setting is for it to be low enough to take 3.2 fluid ounces from the measuring chamber in each cycle of operations.

Adjustability of the tube 23 is required only to regulate the metering apparatus to compensate for variations in the sizes of the parts during manufacture and wear of parts and to set the apparatus to the measuring systems employed in the country in which the invention is used.

By suitably designing the floatation level of the float valve 20 and by adjusting the height of the tube 23 each operative cycle of the metering apparatus will discharge an equal amount of milk. The float valve by reason of its buoyancy compensates variations in the specific gravity of milktherefore the apparatus will always give an accurate recording of the weight of milk passing through it.

An emptying chamber consisting of an open bottom vessel 25 with an external flange around the bottom is mounted on the gasket I4 within the chimb I5. It is locked in position by clamping bolts 26 which are secured in the bracket in which the measuring chamber I0 is mounted. The emptying chamber has an internal pipe 21 which extends from a suction opening in the bottom to the top of said chamber. There may be an air vent 28 adjacent to the top of the chamber.

A vertical pipe 29 made of a material which will permit the flow of magnetic flux therethrough projects above the emptying chamber 25 in communication with the internal pipe 21. At the top it has a connection to the suction line 30 of the milking machine. In the vertical pipe 29 there is a magnet 3I which is free to travel the length of said pipe. The magnet 3| has a hole 32 through it and it is designed to allow the suction of the milking machine to draw milk through the metering apparatus and for the milk flowing through the pipe 29 in one cycle at operations to lift the magnet.

A second magnet 33 is mounted on a counterbalanced lever 34 outside the vertical pipe 29 and in juxtaposition to the magnet 3I. The lever is mounted on the spindle 35 of a standard ratchet actuated counter 36 fixed to bracket 31. Stops 38 limit the movement of the lever 34.

Suction in the pipe 30 created by the usual milking machine draws milk through the measuring chamber inlet I6 lifting the valve I8 to do'so.

The level of the milk rising in said chamber lifts the float valve 20 until it closes onto the valve seat of the suction pipe l9 thus stopping the inflow of milk and allowing the valve I8 to fall onto its seat.

With the closing of the float valve 20 the suction of the milk line transfers to the emptying and calibrating tube 23 which draws milk above its inlet in the measuring chamber into the emptying chamber 25. When the milk falls below the inlet to the tube 23, the float valve 20 falls and the operation of filling the measuring chamber again commences.

The determined quantity of milk reaching the emptying chamber 25 through the tube 23 is drawn through the pipe 21 and the vertical pipe 29 into the milk line of the milking machine, the air vent 28 facilitating this movement. In its passage through the vertical pipe 29 the milk lifts the magnet 3| and the magnet 33 moved by attraction thereto part rotates the spindle 35 thereby actuating the counter 36.

It is essential that the milk be substantially deaerated as it enters this measuring chamber I0 and milk collecting and de-aerating means are provided for this purpose and connected in the milk line between the inlet I6 and the teat cups to which the metering apparatus is applied.

The milk collecting and de-aerating means consist of a receptacle 39 having a milk inlet 40 an'da milk: outlet pipe! I 1: at thebottcnnithe'rlatter connecting with inlet ilfi' cf thenmteringlp paratus. A removable lid 42: isriseatedion .augasket inthe top= of the. receptacle andthere isan outlet 43 through thelid with a spipe flrrconnecting said outlet with the suction .line iof milking machine; As shown this pipe .iswunnected t to the: top oi -theemptymgnhamber L alternative connectionis showninll igi'l... Arshnou d'lfi fixed to the lids 4 T prevents milk: flowing. through theinlet-fl enteringtheoutlet 4.3.. Thereris-"an' ai'rvent-46 the lid. frher shroud diverts mill: enteringrtheireceptacle flauonto the internalwall' thereof thus helping to release entrapped airza-nd' gas as themilk ffallsin the: receptacle.

There is a sump 41 in thezbottomrof the .receptacle 3-91 :and. the-receptacle; is supported by bracket 48 surrounding thesump. 1A tube :oi larger diameter than the outlet pipe 4| opened at-the top: and bottom. and having holes 50 through the wall near the bottom is seated on the bottom of the sump. The outlet pipe 4| projects into the' tubex49 toaa positionabove the holes 50.

Milk entering the receptacle 39 forms'a quiescentlpool therein and" the construction of the sump and its parts prevent foam entering: the outlet pipe4fl'. The air vent 46. permits the milk to flow freely from the receptacle. 39. All separated'iand intermixed incoming "gas with the milk and excess air entering through the vent 46 is extracted through the pipe 44, thus maintaining the proper degree of vacuum in the pipe connecting the inlet 40 to the teat cups.

The capacity of the receptacle 39 and the construction of the several components is such as will give storage for fast milking cows and a quiescent flow of de-foamed and de-aerated milk to the metering apparatus.

The effective operation of the metering apparatus requires that the system be maintained under uninterrupted vacuum. For this purpose the invention provides vacuum retention means which become operative in the event that nonsealable teat cups fall off a cow in a milking operation. The means consist of a valve housing 5| having a valve 52 therein adapted to move vertically within the housing. There is an inlet 53 in the bottom of the housing with a pipe 54 connecting to one group of teat cups. A cap 55 on the housing has a pipe 55 connecting to the inlet 40 of the milk collecting and de-aerating means. The bottom of the cap 55 is a valve seat with which the valve 52 is adapted to register. There is a leak port 51 in the valve or it may be incorporated in the valve seat.

The weight of the valve and the ratio of its cross sectional area to the cross sectional area of the housing permits normal milk flow, but a charge of air entering the housing will lift the valve onto its seat. The leak port 51 provides suflicient suction for the teat cups to be replaced and to equalise the negative pressures on each side of the valve thus permitting it to drop and normal milk flow to recommence.

Associated with the metering apparatus is an automatic sample collector. It consists of a coupling 58 on the pipe (see Fig. 5) provided with a sealing cap and adapted when the sealing cap is removed to take a branch pipe 59. This pipe has a socket 60 in which the neck SI of a bottle 52 is adapted to be secured by any convenient means. A flexible stopper 63 is provided to fit the bottle. It has a head 64 adapted to seal the opening 55 in the branch pipe 59. A needle tube 6 5811s .fitted in the stopper '53. It-may" have in fmmelend filiwhich extends into the opening.-

.As eachrmea'sured quantity;of milk passes along the :pipe 30 past :the coupling 58 the vacuuminthe bottle becomes momentarily higher than that in the pipe line and-by reason of this high vacuum a few drops of milk are drawn into-the bottle from-each Thatch. Thusa true- :mixe'd sample-:of milk passing through the metering apparatus'is' obtained.

In ord'er' to initially calibrate the' metering mechanism-and: to check .thesetting- .from tim e to" time, if. :required, provision .ismade :to inteb poserbetween thepipes 29 and 38 a' pipeBBwWhich passes 'through'alid 69 adapted to be: air tightly fitted to a weighing bucket 10. The pipe-68 may project to nearthe bottom iof the bucket and pipe llwfrom-v the lid' 69"conn'ects back =to-zthe milk. pipe line 30' or inthe case' ofia bucl-iet type-plant, to theairiline towhichzthez-referenc 30 also applies. v

:It will be appreciatedthat a milk transport can .or' a number of such cans with appropriate pipe connections as described above,. can i'be sub stituted for the "weighing :bucket. "Such a 'set iup" provides :a sealed collection of milkand, inathe case of releases type milking machi-nes eliminates the necessity for. fittinga releaserfi Adternativel a collecting tank 72 may *be in ter-po'sed in the ,pipe' line 30. .Thiswtankhas a: gravity outlet-13 with a .control -valvea Hand'- one or more delivery pipes 15 may be provided to deliver milk to cans.

The can lids 69 may have attached thereto a pipe 16 with an inlet 11 and an outlet 18 adapted for connecting to a cooling medium.

The recording counter 36 may be of totalising and batch type. whereby a progressive total is given as well as the individual total, and these counters can be fitted with or without zero resetting attachments.

Instead of connecting the pipe 44 to the top of the emptying chamber 25 as described above, the alternative arrangement illustrated in Fig. 7 may be employed. It has advantages over the former connection where such a quantity of air enters the system as would be likely to interfere with the effective operation of the magnet 3|.

In this alternative arrangement a pipe 19 is made to be interposed between the pipes 29 and 30. For convenience the pipe 19 incorporates the coupling 58 for the sampling means. The pipe 19 has an annular cavity formed therein by internal pipe 80. The cavity is open at the top but is sealed at the bottom by a flange on said internal pipe 80. The pipe 44 is connected to the pipe 19 at the position of the annular cavity.

I claim:

1. A liquid metering device comprising a measuring chamber adapted to be disposed between a source of liquid and a suction line, said chamber having an inlet in the bottom for connection to said source and an outlet in the top for connection to said suction line, said outlet including a vertical tube of magnetic flux transmitting material, an interior cylindrical magnet slidably disposed for vertical reciprocation within said tube, said magnet having a cross-sectional area less than the inside diameter of said tube to permit the restricted passage of liquid relative thereto in said tube, a counter mechanism having an oscillatable operator, an exterior magnet attached to said operator in the held of flux of said interior magnet, a gravity check valve in said measuring chamber for controlling the flow of liquid to said measuring chamber, a suction pipe projecting from the top of said measuring chamber and a float check valve in said measuring chamber adapted to close said suction pipe, and a by-pass pipe having its lower end between said check valves and its upper end communicating with said outlet.

2. A liquid metering device comprising a chamber adapted to be disposed between a source of liquid and a suction line, said chamber having an inlet for connection to said source and an outlet for connection to said suction line, said outlet including a vertical tube of magnetic fiux transmitting material, an interior cylindrical magnet slidably disposed for vertical reciprocation within said tube, said magnet having a cross-sectional area less than the inside diameter of said tube to permit the restricted passage of liquid relative thereto in said tube, a counter mechanism having an oscillatable operator, an exterior magnet attached to said operator in the field of flux of said interior magnet, and means within said chamber for controlling the flow of liquid through said outlet, said means comprising a partition separating the chamber into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, the chamber inlet being at the bottom of the said lower compartment, a gravity check valve cooperating with said inlet, said partition having a vent therethrough with a suction pipe therefrom extending into the upper compartment, 9.

fioat check valve for said vent in said lower compartment, a by-pass pipe extending through said partition having its lower end located at a level between said valves and its upper end extending above the partition to an extent similar to said suction pipe, said outlet comprising a dip tube extending into the upper compartment and terminating therein at a point below the top of said suction pipe and said by-pass pipe.

3. A liquid metering device as defined by claim 2 having means cooperating with said partition for adjusting the position of the upper and lower ends of the by-pass pipe in said compartments.

4. A liquid metering device as defined by claim 2 in which the upper and lower compartments are provided with vents communicating with the exterior of the chamber.

ALFRED VICTOR HEMMENS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 474,241 Goodman et a1 May 3, 1892 1,223,334 Wielaert Apr. 17, 1917 1,546,437 Daysh July 21, 1925 1,992,991 Colley Mar. 5, 1935 2,310,504 Aubert Feb. 9, 1943 2,604,561 Simon July 22, 1952 

